In 2010 Bobby Sangha started Carecorp, a company that provides nursing, cleaning and other services to privately owned nursing homes.
Sangha describes it as a “one-man show” in the beginning. While his “first instinct” was to hire an operations manager, he didn’t believe he was in the position to hire, he said. Instead, he chose to fill management gaps with consultants.
But that decision ended up costing the company.
When the consultants Sangha had been relying on couldn’t attend a meeting with a prospective client, Sangha decided to bring another employee, a nurse, along to the meeting.
When she was stymied by a management-level question she couldn’t answer, Sangha didn’t get the contract.
“I regretted throwing her into the line of fire, assuming her experience would be enough to assure our clients of our capabilities,” Sangha said.
Even worse, the disastrous meeting ended up costing his company other opportunities as word spread through the small community of nursing home operators.
“No one was returning my calls or emails,” he said.
Sangha realized he needed help.
He attended an intensive business seminar, got advice from an executive coach and hired an operations manager, who in turn helped him recruit nurses with management experience.
He then had to go about repairing the business’ reputation, which he did by attending conferences and networking.
“With the contracts we already had, I ensured we were providing top-quality care so the word of mouth could spread,” he said. “And I started introducing my operations manager.”
The company now has 700 employees and operates in B.C. and Alberta.
On lifelong learning | “When building a business it’s important to be constantly learning and investing in yourself. I develop myself professionally by reading business biographies, attending seminars and having regular meetings with mentors and coaches.”
Has a work or life challenge taught you a key career lesson? Contact Jen St. Denis at [email protected]
